Destined To Be His
by EmilyA198527
Summary: Abandoned as a baby, Sophia called a village of people where she was the only Daikini her home and Willow and Kiaya Ufgood as her parents. It would be when the arrival of a small baby left like herself and encountering a tall, dark man who has a connection to her that her whole life would change forever.
1. Chapter 1

Note: This is a fanfiction story. I do not own anything that is mentioned and I have nothing to do with Willow or anything attached to it or anything to do with The Undertaker and anything attached to the WWE or to him. This was written for pure enjoyment and entertainment and no profit will be made from it.

Prologue

On a cold, wintry morning deep in the woods outside of the kingdom of Queen Bavmorda, a pair of individuals, cloaked underneath thick brown capes, ran amongst the trees with their breath heavy on its way out of their mouths. They ran with desperation to get away from someone that was after them.

Reaching an opening to the thick woods, one of the figure turned to see the other running out, causing their hood to slide back and reveal that it was a woman around her mid-thirties with long, raven black hair, fair skin and hazel brown eyes. She looked to the other person with anxiousness burning within her stare as she clung to something hidden beneath her cloak.

"We can't keep running, Daniel." She said, sounding scared for their life. "Bavmorda has sent her henchmen to come and make us pay for going against her wishes and to take from us what we will not let her have."

"I will not let them take what is most precious from us, Esmeralda." Daniel said, moving towards her. His crest hung around his neck on the front of his shirt, giving away that he was the king of the north and ruler over Highdale, a kingdom of light who had thrived without the use of darkness within its walls. Reaching her, he gently pushed her cloak back as his voice dropped to a whisper. "They will not take what we have."

Beneath the soft fabric of the cloak, lied a baby girl wrapped up in thick brown and white wool to keep the cold from hurting her. Several curls of her black hair poked out at the top of the covering that was on her head as her brown eyes looked to the man and woman who were her mother and father.

"It will be a cold day in hell before I give her over to Bavmorda to fulfill the prophecy-"

The sudden sound of hounds howling caught the child's attention and she quickly started to become afraid as her mother was at that moment. Before she knew it, she found her being held against Esmeralda's chest and being ran through the woods as quickly as she had been a little earlier by them. She couldn't tell what was going on at that moment only that darkness was all around her and that something was seriously wrong. It wasn't for awhile longer before her eyes found light coming to her once more and she was able to look to a spot.

Knelt down on the ground closeby, Daniel worked dillegently to use some of the thick moss that was attached to the shoreline as a make-shift raft. He pressed down on it to make sure that it would be strong enough and thick enough before turning to Esmeralda with a sad look on his face as his voice spoke of his true emotions all too well.

"We have no choice, Esmeralda. We must do this so that way we can face against whoever Bavmorda has sent and then fetch our child down the river."

The baby girl didn't know what was going on at that moment, but knew that both of her parents were saddened. She looked up to her mother to see tears coming down her eyes as she carried her in her arms and eased her down upon the mossy bed that her father had created for her. Her eyes moved to where her father stood to watch him remove the crest from his neck and place down upon her small frame before looking back up to him as her small ears picked up on his voice trembling.

"We will see you again, my beloved daughter."

She kept looking to her dad, not sure of what was going on. While her eyes were focused on him, her small body started to feel it being drifted away from her parents and down the river some. She looked on to see them turning just as several large hounds came running up and pouncing on them. Her body jerked at the screams of her parents echoing out in the area while her eyes caught a glimpse of two large men dressed in black on horses before she went around a corner in the river.

 _Where is my mother and father?_

She didn't understand why her parents didn't come with her and leave her all alone to go down this river. Being by herself traveling down the river for awhile, the baby girl started to cry out in sorrow at being without the two people who had been caring for her since her birth into this world. Her sobs echoed out in the area even as her small frame had stopped moving down the river due to being stuck on the shoreline. All seemed lost to her at such a young and innocent point in her life. She felt abandoned and scared that something bad would happen to her.

"Oh my goodness!"

The sound of a woman speaking up caught her attention. The sobbing baby looked to the shoreline to see a woman with a kind and concerned face kneeling down beside where she was at the river. Her eyes noticed how she wasn't really tall like her mother, but that she had the same kind of gentle stare that her mother had given to her since being alive. The sight started to calm her cries down as she focused on her reaching towards her.

"You poor thing." Picking her up into her arms, Kiaya, the wife of Willow Ufgood, clung to the small baby as she stood in a spot. She was in shock that someone would abandon such a beautiful and precious child. Her eyes noticed sight of a crest lying on her body from where she was holding her, and became alarmed. Turning back, she saw where Willow was nearby and screamed out to him.

"Willow! Come here, Willow!"

She watched Willow drop what he was doing and move towards her, quickly. Kiaya waited for him to get to her before she showed him the baby girl and motioned to the crest as she spoke softer.

"Willow, I think this baby is the daughter of the king and queen of the north."

"Why on earth would she be out here alone like this?" Willow asked, confused as to why she would be abandoned. "A newborn princess shouldn't be sent off down the river."

"Something bad must have happened to her parents. Willow...We can't leave her out here alone without anyone to keep her safe and care for her."

Willow knew she was right. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had Kiaya to put her back in the raft and send her on down the river a little more.

Nodding his head, Willow tucked the crest that had been atop the child's body into one of his pockets and turned with Kiaya towards where they had come from. He gaze down upon the small baby to see her smiling up to him which brought a smile to his own face. Pondering on what he was to call her during her time with him and his wife, he softly spoke.

"You are safe now, Sophia."

"You named her, Willow?" Kiaya asked, walking with him.

"I believe we should name her in case we get the chance to raise her."

"Well...Let's call her Sophia Dawn then."

"I like that...Sophia Dawn Ufgood."

Feeling contented with the name of his possible child, Willow left the creek with his wife, Kiaya, and headed to the front door of their home in the small village they called home.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: This is a fanfiction story only. I do not own anything or have anything to do with Willow or the WWE or the character of Willow Ufgood and The Undertaker. I only wrote this for pure entertainment and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter One

 _20 years later..._

Opening the door of the small home she shared with her adoptive family, Sophia smiled from ear to ear at another beautiful spring sun shining down upon all of the village that had become her home for the last twenty years. Today was a very special day for her to be so happy. It was her 20th birthday. Since she had arrived there, her birthday had always been the day right before the spring festival that the village held every year at the rise of spring.

Dressed in a brown short-sleeved gown white some white frills to the collar, sleeves and the bottom of her skirt, she moved over to where she had a basket nestled on a stool with a pair of black shoes o her feet. Her long, curly, raven black hair hung down her shoulders and back, giving her kind hazel brown eyes the chance to look around without something hanging down in front of them.

"Where are you off to today, Sophia?"

The sound of her father, Willow Ufgood, caught her attention. Sophia turned around to see him stepping outside to where she was with Kiaya moving out there as well. She looked to the two of them with a kind look in her eyes and a gentle smile on her face as she spoke to them kindly.

"To the nearby field to pick some wildflowers." She replied. "I was wanting to pick enough to make a headwreath for me to wear at the festival tomorrow in the village and also enough to make one for Mim."

"You best be careful and just stick to the clearing that you normally go to. Don't go anywhere else."

"I promise that I won't go anywhere that is dangerous, father."

"Watch out for wild dogs and any bandits."

"I will father."

She took the moment to wave bye to her parents before she proceeded to walk away from their home and amongst the villagers. Sophia smiled and nodded her head to several of the people she saw on a day-to-day basis. Her being taller than the rest of them didn't make her feel like a weirdo. They welcomed her amongst them and accepted her as one of their own. A small smile came to her face when she noticed one man staring at her and his wife glaring at him with the kind of look that told her what was fixing to happen. As she was getting closer to the entrance to the village, the light sound of the man getting a fierce slapped to his head caused her to softly giggle and reassure her what she assumed was fixing to happen.

 _Off to get me some flowers now._

Sophia headed on down the dirt road that led to the village that dwelled deep within in the hills and away from many of the other large towns that more of her kind resided in and called home. It was nice and peaceful in the area that she was brought up in, and never assumed the thought of moving somewhere larger or where there were more of her kind.

Moving down the path a little bit more, she noticed where the clearing was that she normally would go to and pick flowers on occasion. Sophia moved off the path and headed into the large field to find it full of all kinds of wildflowers that would work perfect for what she had in mind. With a smile on her face, she sat herself down close to the center of the area, and started to pick handfuls of flowers that would be perfect for her to make into head wreaths.

 _This is going to be great! I can't wait to show Mim all the flowers that-_

The sound of a dog howling caught her attention. Sophia slowly eased herself up with her basket of flowers in her hand. Her eyes looked in the direction of where the noise had originated from, secretly hoping that what she heard wasn't what it really was.

Her fears came to reality as the visual of two large, wild hounds came rushing out of the other side of the clearing with their fangs in clear sight with drool hanging down from them.

 _Oh no..._

The sight caused her to drop her basket of flowers as she looked for somewhere safe to run to. Her eyes caught sight of where a tall tree was nestled that would give her some security. Without a moment to lose, Sophia rushed over to where the large tree was standing, and started climbing it. She struggled at first but managed to use her intense fear of the dogs to pull herself up to where she could sit on firm branch. Looking down, Sophia focused on the large beasts growling and barking at her as they desperately tried to jump up to where she was.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

Her voice whined out to the dogs, exposing her feelings of distress. She wished for them to go from the clearing and to wherever they came from so that she could get to her basket of wildflowers and head on home.

"Stop it!"

All at once, Sophia heard a whistling sound that she had never heard before in her whole life and found the dogs to stop trying to jump up to her and actually move away from the tree a little bit.

 _What is going on here? Is this some kind of sorcery?_

The sight of the dogs now to be calm and just watching her made her go from being distressed to being confused. How could a whistle cause such ferocious and blood thirsty creatures to stop their urge to try and kill her?

Her body perked up at the sound of someone moving up towards where she was. Sophia moved her eyes to where she heard the sound, and discovered her entire body freezing on the spot from what she saw.

Coming into sight, a tall man, dressed in a black leather sleeveless top, black leather pants, and black boots, moved at the base of the tree and stared straight at her with his piercing emerald eyes. His arms were strong and had many different symbols carved into his skin. His long, flowing black hair hung down his shoulders and back. With his eyes on her, Sophia took a moment to regain her composure just as he started to speak.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: This is only a fanficton. I don't own anything or have anything to do with the WWE, the movie Willow, or the characters The Undertaker and Willow Ufgood. This was wrote for entertainment only and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter Two

"I am very sorry, my lady." He said, calmly. "My dogs were very excited during their chase after a rabbit, and they are always very hard to get to stop chasing down anything in their path."

Although his voice sounded sincerely honest, he was not being honest to the beautiful maiden that was nestled high up in the tall tree that him and his dogs were nestled in front of. The truth of the fact was that he purposely had sent the dogs in her direction in hopes of working the situation into his favor so that he could talk to her and be in her presence.

Showing his hands, he spoke up once more with his deep voice dripping from his strong lips.

"If you will allow me to, I wish to help you out of the tree and bring you down onto the ground."

His eyes noticed her to be a little hesitant at the thought of letting him bring her down to where he was standing with the large hounds nearby. However, he never budged for a second. He was not going to leave that spot until he got her down from the tall tree and to where he was standing at the base of the tree.

He discovered that he didn't have to wait long before she started to move herself down to a lower branch in order to prepare for him to assist her down easier. His body waited until she got close within his reach before he made the move towards the tree, and used one of his arms to slide behind the backs of her knees. With her caught off guard, he worked his other arm around the lower part of her back that was bent with her body and removed her from the low branch. His piercing eyes locked onto her gentle stare to find her looking at him in shock and surprise from what he had done at that moment.

Looking deep within them, a surge started to rush through his entire body along with flashes of images that he had been dreaming of for the last five years: A blurry image of a woman in white standing out on a cliff, looking out to the ocean. He watched as the image cleared up in time to see the woman turn around to reveal it to be none other than the woman that he had in his arms at the moment. This beautiful peasant woman was the lady who he had been seeing in his mind for the last five years of his existence, and the one that he had been told he was destined to meet one day.

Slowly, he eased her to the ground in front of him and shifted his arms away from where they had been. His eyes focused upon her face in time to see her flashing him a kind and friendly smile on her face a few moments before catching the sweet sound of her voice slipping out of her soft lips.

"I appreciate you helping me down, sir." She said, politely. "I was thinking I was going to be stuck up there for awhile."

"I would never be able to live with myself if I had walked away from someone in need...especially someone as beautiful as you, my lady."

The sight of her smiling a lot more shyly from what he said to her and bowing her head out of a bashful nature caused him to smile a little more at her. His eyes drifted from her face to a side of her neck to notice something else that made his heart nearly stop.

Across a small section of her neck, a snow white birthmark in the shape of a dove was in plain sight amongst her long black hair that was hanging down.

 _It is her...It is the woman of the prophecy._

Before he could say another word, he found her walking around him to where her basket had been to retrieve it. Desperation took over him as he moved towards her while asking her a question that seemed quite simple.

"May I know your name?"

"My name is Sophia Ufgood." She replied before turning to face him with the same smile. "What is your name?"

He was quiet as he slowly drew himself closer to her. Once he was close enough to cup a side of her face, his voice released the answer that he had for her.

"I am Prince Markus Callaway, Son of Queen Bavmorda. It was decreed twenty years ago to this day that a woman born with the symbol of a dove would be the key for my family's kingdom to rule on and become my wife...and you are that woman, Sophia."


	4. Chapter 4

Note: This is a fanfiction based story only. No profit will be made from it and I have nothing to do with either the movie Willow and the characters in it or with the WWE and its characters.

Chapter Three

Sophia's heart dropped when she heard Markus inform her that she was destined to be by his side. She had never seen this man in her entire life until this very day, and the thought of rushing into some kind of marriage ceremony with him in order to fulfill a prophecy that she was not aware of...extremely frightened the very core of her being.

With her eyes focused on his face that was close to her own, her ears picked up on the faint sound of horses in the distance, informing her that there others out here with him and they would come looking for him to find her with him. Sophia couldn't afford for that to happen. She was not about to be taken while she still had the spirit and the means to escape capture.

She waited for Markus to be removing his hand from a side of her face and taking a few steps towards the noise before her frame darted off in the way that she had arrived to the clearing, clinging to her basket full of wildflowers. Her ears picked up on the sound of Markus running through the brush not far behind her, breaking the lower limbs of bushes with his large feet and his voice calling out to her.

"Sophia!"

Although she was tempted to stop and look to him, she knew deep down inside of herself that if she were to do that it would be a sentence to her of becoming his wife and completing a destiny that had been wrote out for her when she was born into the world. If anyone was going to shape her fate, it would be her and no ancient decree was going to make her become the wife of someone she didn't know much about.

Sophia waited until she had run through the thick brush for awhile before she came to a stop on a path down by the creek. Heavy breaths escaped from her lips due to the struggle she had put in to put a lot of distance between Markus and herself. She looked around the area for any sign of him or his hounds while her body was preparing to take off running again.

A soft sigh of relief left her mouth when she discovered that neither the dogs or Markus Callaway were present in the area. On top of that, she couldn't hear any sounds of horses in the area. The people that had been close to where she was with him were nowhere in the area and that would mean that Markus and his large dogs had left as well.

 _Thank goodness...I don't think I could have kept on running like that even if I wanted to._

Sophia took a few moments to catch her breath before she started to move down the path that ran along the shore of the creek. Once her heart was where it needed to be, she softly started to hum a lullaby that Kiaya had sung to her every night since she had been brought into their home and taken in as one of their children despite her being a Daikini. Her frame moved a little more down the shoreline, heading closer to the village she called home, when she picked up on a soft noise that resembled a baby crying.

 _Is...Is there a child out here unattended?_

She kept herself moving in the direction of where the sound was coming from, wishing to discover the source of the noise. If it was a child that was out here by itself, it probably had gotten lost. If it wasn't a child, the idea of what to do was clouded by herself. Moving past a thick oak true, Sophia almost dropped her basket at what she had seen.

Nestled upon a raft much like the one that her adopted parents had informed her that she arrived to the area on, a baby was wrapped up in thick brown blanket and was softly sobbing.

The moment her eyes saw this, her heart dropped down into her stomach and she moved closer to where the child was. Sophia placed her basket of flowers down on a spot nearby, and squatted down to where the child was. Her hands were a bit shaky as they reached underneath her and lifted her out of the raft. Sophia brought the baby to her body and looked down upon her.

The baby looked up to her with some tears streaming down her face. In the second it had seen her, all crying ceased and it started to smile up at her.

A smile came to her own face from seeing how the child was looking up to her before she sat on a stump nearby. She held her to her body as she softly hummed the lullaby that Kiaya had sung to her when she was a baby herself. Her gaze held itself on the baby for a little longer, soaking in the moment between the two of them, when the sound of someone walking up caused her to look in a direction.

Not far from them, Kiaya, her adopted mother, mim and ranon, her siblings, were walking up when they noticed her to be holding something. They drew closer and discovered it was a baby. While mim and ranon were giggling at the baby, Kiaya moved herself to sit by Sophia, and make soft sounds to the baby in her daughter's arms.

"Sophia!"

The sound of her father's voice echoing out to her caused Sophia to look with the rest of her family in time to see a look of desperation on his face at the discovery of them being around a baby. She realized that he had been aware of the child and didn't want to bring her ashore. However, Sophia could tell that her siblings and her mother were happy that she had done what she did. She kept the child in her arms as she watched Kiaya get her basket and motion her to stand up with the others and head on down the way. Sophia smile down to the baby as she walked with her mother and her brother and sister being around her while the soft sound of her father kicking at the dirt behind them only made her giggle on the way to their home.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: This is a fanfiction based story only. No profit will be made from it. I do not own or have anything to do with the characters involved in the story.

Chapter Four

Meanwhile, at a tall and dark foreboding castle on the opposite side of where Sophia's village was nestled, Markus dismounted from his horse with the members of his guard that had rode out with him during the day and headed inside of his mother's home. He moved with purpose across the onyx stoned floor.

Today the woman that was to marry him and to rule beside him for all eternity appeared before him out in a nearby clearing and ran away out of fear of others coming, as well as from him announcing that she was to becoming his wife. She lived and breathe, and the dwelling that she called home couldn't be far from the castle.

Reaching where his mother, Queen Bavmorda, was nestled upon her throne, he bowed his head towards her out of respect and had it to remain lowered as she begun to speak to him.

"My son," Bavmorda asked, "how did the lands appear today?"

Lifting his head up, Markus prepared himself in the telling of the news to his mother for he knew that she would react in some way to hearing it.

"Mother," he replied, "the lands are in pristine condition. There is no sign of any army or kingdom trying to settle in and rule over what is rightfully yours."

"That is very good to hear, my son."

"There is something else I have to report, mother."

"What is that?"

His excitement of what he wished to tell her had begun to eat away at him and made being patient with the reveal quite difficult to make towards her. Managing through it, Markus drew in a breath of air and released it out as he answered his mother as calm as he could.

"The woman of the prophecy...The one that I am to marry...She lives."

The instant that he said those words, he was surprised to see his mother jumping slightly from her throne and moving towards him. His gaze watched her hurry down to stand before him as her voice started to become a little softer and shakier.

"Are you sure that it is her, Markus?"

"Yes, mother. I thought she was just a local peasant in the area that my dogs scared up into a tree. However...When I helped her down out of the tree, I looked into her eyes and saw the vision of her being dressed in all white, looking over a cliff near our home."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes...She has the mark of the white dove upon a side of throat."

Any feelings of uncertainity left him as he found his mother to be smiling from ear to ear and letting out a cackle all her own at the news that he had brought to her of. His attention remained fully on her as he listened to what she had to say.

"It is time, my dear Markus. It is time for you to bring her to our home and for her to take her spot as your wife and future queen of the land."

"I agree, mother."

"I will give you men and supplies for the journey ahead for you are to not only bring her back with you, but also a baby who bears the mark of the one that will destroy our kingdom."

"The child of the prophecy."

His voice dropped to a whisper at realizing that besides discovering his future bride that had been decreed upon her birth that the infant who would bring about his mother's end was also in the area. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his mother and would do anything necessary to make sure of that.

"Your sister, Sorsha, is out in the stables right now, getting her horse prepared for the journey. She will travel with you to retrieve not only the infant but also the woman that you are to marry and make your wife." Bavmorda responded.

Deep down inside, Markus despised the idea of having to ride along with his sister. She was a bit too strong headed and would make rash decisions that would result in them in a situation that they shouldn't be in the first place. Even though he didn't wish for her to come, there would be no way of telling he or his mother that.

"Yes, mother." He answered, hiding his own feelings about his sister being with him. "I will begin the preparations to leave the castle and retrieve not only the baby of the prophecy but she who is to become my wife."

"Good, my dear Markus. I look forward to your return."

He gave a nod to his head mother before he turned away, and started to the very doors that he had walked through in order to reach where she was standing. Markus secretly started to work on a plan in his own mind: Once his sister and him find the baby of the prophecy and his bride, he planned to marry her and claim her as his for all time even if the ceremony is not before his mother's eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Note: This is a purely fanfiction story and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter Six

That evening at Sophia's adopted family's home, she was easing the little baby into the sink that was nestled in the kitchen. She smiled to the baby as she found her to be giggling from her body making contact with the warm water. A giggle all her own left her mouth as she took up a rag nearby, and begun to ran it over her body.

 _Why would such a beautiful and sweet baby such as her be abandoned in the river and left to float down it until either someone found her or the water took her on to the dangerous rapids and falls?_

It troubled her all over from knowing that some person had placed her upon a handmade raft, and had her to float down the water with only the clothes that she had on her body. How could anyone turn their back on an innocent child like this little girl?

Sophia lifted up one of the baby's arms, and caught sight of a peculiar birthmark that was not like anything she had ever seen on anyone else in the village. She pondered on it for a moment before she looked to where Kiaya was wiping down the table in the kitchen with her two adopted siblings, Mim and Ranon, doing their best to help her along the way. Sophia let a few more moments pass by before she found the right moment to speak up.

"Mother," she said, calmly, "will you come over here for a moment?"

Her eyes witnessed Kiaya looking at her and giving a nod of her head before placing her rag down and wiping her hands on her apron that she had on still from dinner prior to speaking up to her.

"Sure thing, Sophia."

Sophia waited for her to come up to where she was before she raised up the baby's arm once more to where she could see what she had seen. Turning her focus on Kiaya, she noticed her to be looking at the mark more curiously and took this as the perfect chance for her to start the conversation back up.

"Have you ever seen anything like this, mother?"

"I have not..." Turning away from where Sophia stood with the baby, Kiaya looked out of the room as she shouted out. "Willow, should we take the baby to the village council?"

Almost immeidately, Sophia heard her father rushing in there with a desperate look on his face.

"No!" Willow shouted, dramatically. "We can't take her there. If we take her there and something bad happens, everyone will blame me."

She tried to not laugh at her father but couldn't help letting out several giggles that matched the ones coming from Mim and Ranon at how he was flailing his arms about with no regard for how he looked. Sophia shook her head gently as she focused on the baby once more and gathered her up against her in her arms prior to carrying her over to where she had a brown piece of fabric big enough to wrap her up in so she could try off. She softly hummed as her hands worked it around her tiny body as she continued to hear her mother and father talking to one another.

"Willow, calm down."

"Calm down? Kiaya, tomorrow is my big day."

"The high elder hasn't picked an apprentice in over twenty years."

"I have a feeling. I know tomorrow is my day."

"Sophia, are you ready for tomorrow?"

Sophia turned once she had cradled the baby against her and focused on her mother. She had an expression of confusion upon her face for a moment prior to speaking up.

"What is tomorrow for me?"

"You are to perform a song for the village at the festival tomorrow."

It suddenly dawned on her what her mother was talking about and she quickly smiled and nodded he head up and down as the words came rushing out of her mouth.

"I remember now, mother. I will be there to sing tomorrow."

Her attention shifted down to the small baby in her arms to see her starting to drift to sleep in her arms with one of her hands clinging onto the top of her dress that was closest to it. The visual brought a warm smile to her face as she kept her nestled within her arms safely. With her eyes on her, the sound of Ranon's voice speaking to her echoed in the background of her thoughts.

"Sissy, she likes you."

Looking over to her brother, she kept the smile there as she spoke to him with a similiar tone in her voice.

"I do believe so, Ranon."

Sophia returned to looking over the baby once more, finding enjoyment from watching her sleeping so peacefully in her arms. She moved over to a rocking chair by a fireplace in their home, and sat herself down upon it, making sure she didn't wake the child up. Sophia got herself comfortable and begun to close her eyes as she rocked herself to sleep with the small baby clinging to her in an attempt to ensure that she didn't let go of her.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: This is purely a fanfiction story. No profit will be made from it and I do not own anything mentioned in it.

Chapter Seven

 _Sophia..._

The soft sound of a voice calling out her name brought her out of her sleep. Sophia fluttered her eyes a few times and looked, expecting to find her family's roaring place by her side and her to still be nestled in the rocking chair with the baby girl in her arms.

Instead, the visual of a clear blue sky overhead filled her sights and alerted her that she was now lying down on her back.

Sophia turned her head to one side of her, and found tall grass to be reaching up well above where she was positioned at the current moment before looking to the other side and seeing the same thing.

 _What on earth is going on? Where am I?_

She pushed herself to sit up where she was nestled outside with confusion sweeping across her body and mind. Her eyes drifted down to where the little girl had been clinging to her chest only to find her gown and that the dress she had on earlier on the day had been changed out by a flowing white gown that would be the perfect choice for a princess of some faraway kingdom.

 _What happened to my dress I had on?_

Sophia pushed herself to stand up where she was nestled, and started to scan the surroundings that were around her at the moment, soaking in the change of location. Her eyes noticed how she had been lying in a bend near a rock where a faint trail was leading around a corner of it. Despite being highly confused at her change of circumstances, Sophia left where she had been lying and moved around the rock to see what was around the other corner.

Leading alongside where a cliff overlooked an ocean, the path continued to go down a hill in the direction of a village.

 _Perhaps there is someone down there that can help me figure out what has happened to me._

Sophia proceeded to keep going down the fairly beaten path before her with the goal of going down to where the village was. She reached an area in the path where it was across from the peak and found herself looking to it.

There was something about it that was calling her towards it. Not to jump over it, but to take a look at what all stretched out before her.

 _What harm can a little look be? I will just see what there is down below and than I will continue on my way down to the village for some help._

She removed herself from the trail that probably many had moved down before and started up to where the cliff was. Her hands kept the front of the dress lifted up just enough so she didn't step on the front of the material as she moved about. Reaching a safe enough spot that wasn't too close to the edge, Sophia let her hands drop the dress back down, and shifted her focus to what stretched out before her.

The sight filling her eyes was so beautiful that words cannot describe it. The waves crashing against the rocks below where she stood with the sun glistening down upon its blue surface couldn't be justified by just a simple statement of words. It's natural beauty and wonder was more than enough for her to enjoy in that moment.

 _This is so beautiful. I am pretty sure that I have never seen anything as beautiful as this in all of my life._

 _There is something that makes even this perfect view pale in comparison to._

The sudden sound of a voice whispering directly behind her caused her muscles to tense up, but it was the fact that it sounded just like the voice of the man she had met out in a field not far from her home that made her blood run cold for a moment. Drawing in a breath, Sophia slowly turned around to face who it was that was speaking directly to her.

Her fear became reality as her eyes looked upon the tall physique of the man out in the field only known as Markus. He looked at her with a gentle stare in his eyes and a faint smile to his face. Instead of the black leather attire he had on, he now was fashioning a white long sleeved top that was a common piece of clothing for many poets or for the higher elite males to wear lounging around and a nice pair of black slacks. His long, black hair flowed in the wind to a degree as he proceeded to continue to speak to her.

"Even the most perfect and beautiful scene in nature cannot compare to the beauty that you possess, my dear Sophia."

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked, attempting to sound brave even though her nervousness slipped into her voice. "How did you-"

"Find you?" He kept his eyes on hers as a faint chuckle slipped into his voice. "I can find you wherever you are. There is nothing that can keep us apart."

"You talk of us as if we are a couple when I barely know you and likewise the same could be said about you knowing little about me."

"That is true, my lady, but we have been destined to be with one another since the day that we were born."

Her eyes shifted in time to see one of his large hands coming up to a side of her face and cradling it, gently, before she looked up in time to see his face lowering down upon hers as the last of his words slipped into her ears.

"We are meant to be together for all time..."


	8. Chapter 8

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story and I own nothing or will make profit from it.

Chapter Eight

"Wake up, Markus!"

The loud voice of his sister, Sorscha shouting directly into one of his ears jerked him right out of the dream he had been having of the beautiful peasant girl that he was destined to marry. He slowly opened up one of his eyes and glared directly towards where his sister was standing next to the bed with her gear already on and a frustrated look on her face as she continued to berate him.

"If we are to find not only the baby of the prophecy but also the woman that is to be your bride, we have to start out early before the sun rises to make sure that we make good time and cover more ground. This nonsense of you sleeping in like this until dawn has risen will not help but only hinder our mission."

"I get the point, Sorscha." Markus grumbled, pushing his tall body to sit up on a bed provided for him in one of the rooms an inn he had stayed in the previous night with his sister and the others that were traveling with them in their quest. "I am getting up now, and it will not take me long to get myself ready for the trip ahead of us."

"I suggest you start to act more like me, and be ready before the sun has risen if we are to find the baby and the girl quicker than later."

His eyes watched his sister storm out of his room after he had swung his long legs over a side of the bed and pressed his bare feet against the hardwood floor. Once she had left him alone, a sigh of frustration left his mouth at how she was ranting at him about his choice to not be up around three in the morning like she was, preparing herself for a journey that is to begin before the sun is to rise over the mountaintops.

 _Why in the hell did mother have to make me go on this journey with my sister when she is being nothing but a pain in the ass? She could have had her to go on her own to find the baby and me to find the woman that is to be my bride. We didn't have to go with each other on the same journey. Now that we are...I am not going to be free of nit-picking and stubborn headed-remarks until we have achieved the end goal._

Tossing the remaining covers off of his body, Markus arose to a standing position with some faint sunlight streaming in through a crack in the curtains and danced across his muscular, nude physique. He walked across the room to where he had his clothes laid out for the day ahead of his sister and him. His hands worked to get his black leather pants on while images of Sophia filled his mind.

She had made a permament home deep within his mind and she would not leave. Her beautiful face, angelic eyes, and curvaceous body made her the complete package to him. She was everything he wanted and there was no other woman that could take her place. Sophia was indeed the woman of the prophecy, the one whose light would match his darkness and have his kingdom to last forever.

"Soon, my love...I will be with you again, very soon."

Markus whispered underneath his breath as he secured his pants around his waist and slid his feet into his strongest pair of black boots. His hands picked up his black leather vest, and slid his arms through the holes, having them to be fully exposed with all of the markings he had upon them. He snapped the snaps on the front of the vest to where they were secured and would not open up again so easily to expose his muscular chest.

 _Knock._

A soft breath left his mouth as he finished getting his vest ready at the sound of another knock at his door. He grumbled some as he strapped his sword to his waist, as well as a numerous amount of daggers that were on the same belt. Moving across the room once he had finished getting dressed, Markus grabbed a hold of the door handle and flung it wide open as his voice begun to bellow out.

"I told you I-"

He cut himself off from discovering the person to be there to not be his sister but an elderly cleaning woman that had come there to clean his room. His loud voice had made her cower and lower head out of fear of him lashing out at her for knocking on his door. He drew in a breath of air and softened his voice to her to try and fix what he had done.

"I do apologize, my lady. The room is all yours."

Markus watched her nod to him prior to he nodded to her and started down the hallway. Although he was the son of the dark queen Bavmorda and his sister was the stubborn headed and ruthless Sorscha, he made sure to make some effort in showing some form of kindness to those who were willing to show it to him. He got to the to the top of the stairs, and begun to race down them in anticipation of what the day would bring him and getting to see his beloved bride once more.


	9. Chapter 9

Note: This is a fanfiction based story. I will not make any profit from it and I own nothing in it.

Chapter Nine

The sun had gotten close to reaching around noon and the annual spring festival was in full swing in Sophia's village. Everyone was having a grand time with one another, drinking from large mugs, eating delicious foods, dancing around while muscians played, and Willow performing illusions for the crowd to enjoy.

Among the ones that were dancing to the lively beat that was being played, Sophia moved to the beat with a group of other maidens around her age in the village. She wore her favorite, light pink shortsleeved gown and matching shoes that were fit for the spring festival since it only came once a year for the people there. With her long, curly, black hair hanging halfway up with ribbons tied about it, she giggled softly with the women as she kept up with them all the way to the end. Sophia eased herself to a stopping point with the women before applauding loudly to the band that was there, playing the music.

Watching the musicians where they were nestled on the stage, one of them motioned to her with a smile on her face, indicating it was her time to come up there and perform for the people that were there at the festival.

 _Well...Here goes nothing._

Putting on a brave smile, Sophia left the women she had been dancing around in a circle, and approached the stage that had been set up. Her confidence started to build up even more. The kind words and visible signs of support from the others in the village made the trek up to the platform more easier.

Reaching where she was to sing, she let a few of the men assist her in climbing up there. She looked out over the area a bit, and found the people gathering before her to watch and listen to her perform a song for them all. A smile danced across her face at witnessing this. Drawing in a breath of air, Sophia proceeded to start singing the song she had in store for everyone that day.

All of a sudden, a low but loud noise came barreling down to them from the outskirts of the village from the large horns that were set up. It was a warning that something or someone was coming.

The sound had her to shift her focus to the area of the villagers and found them to be looking all around for what was coming their way. It was the familiar noise she heard out in the woods that drew her attention over to a spot. Her eyes widened in horror and shock at seeing a pack of wild dogs rushing into the village from various directions. The sight caused her usually soft voice to come screaming out of her mouth in desperation.

"Everyone, get to cover!"

No sooner had she screamed to everyone and they saw the danger, everyone begun to run in various directions to get somewhere safe and sound. They were desperate to keep themselves and their loved ones out of the way of danger.

Sophia quickly got down from the stage, and glanced to where Willow and her step-siblings were nestled in a hiding spot. She started over towards them when she caught the sound of a struggle. Turning her attention over to a corral where horses were usually kept, her eyes fell upon one of the men of the village struggling with two wild dogs. She didn't hesitate as she ran full force over towards it with all intentions of helping him.

"Sophia, don't go!"

Her ears heard her father and siblings screaming out at her, but she would not turn away from someone in danger. On the way, her hand snagged up a sword by its handle that was sticking straight up out of a barrel of them that was to be sold. Her body leaped over a side of the wall that was set up around the circle and landed on her feet. Sophia ran head on to where the wild dogs were attacking the man and let out a battle cry as she thrusted her sword into one them but feeling it spinning around and knocking her down to the ground. Immediatley, her body rolled upon the dirt to a standing position in time to find the beast now facing her and growling out loudly.

"Sophia!"

Her attention drifted for a split second to where Vohnkar was nestled on a side of the wall that was around the corral in time to see him hurling an additional weapon to her. She caught it with grace and narrowed her sights on the beast. Sophia showed no hesitation as it was running at her and she thrusted as hard as she could into the other side of the wild dog, taking it down with her. She glanced over and found that the final blow she had made on it to have killed it before finding the other dog escaping and the other man was okay. Sophia caught her breath as she heard people rushing towards her.

 _What the hell brought these beasts here?_

The feeling of hands helping her snapped her to reality and nodded her head to Vohnkar and several others. She looked to the fallen wild dog and noticed something striking. She looked to Vohnkar and softly whispered to him.

"They came for someone's baby..."

The knowledge hit her hard as she ran out of the corral and hurried through the people towards home as Vohnkar made the announcement louder. She heard Willow coming behind her from a distance as she got closer to her home and bursted through the front door, screaming.

"Mother! Mother!"

Her body released its tension at seeing Kiaya walking past a doorway in the kitchen, smiling at her with the baby in her arms. She rushed towards her and held her before taking the baby girl from her arms, and clinging her to her. Sophia turned to watch her father rush in and embrace her mother before looking to Kiaya and herself as he spoke.

"We can't keep this child. We have to take it to the village council."

She couldn't fight with her father on the issue. They had to do the right thing and take the baby before the elder of the village to find out the right course of action to keep the attacks from continuing. Nodding her head, Sophia clung to the child as if it were her own while moving towards the front door of the house with her parents with the intention of going before the village council and elder with the child they had discovered by the shore of the river.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story. I will not be making any profit from it and I do not own anything in it.

Chapter Ten

"Where are those dogs?"

Markus stood atop a small hill, looking over the flat field in the distance for any sign of the pack of dogs he had set loose in order to go and find the baby of the prophecy. He had trained them well and they were well prepared for their quest into finding the baby and bringing it back either dead or alive...although his mother would prefer for the child to be dead upon arrival.

He never quite understood why his mother hated the child with such passion and how it could be the downfall of her kingdom. How could one little tiny infant bring about the destruction of his mother's kingdom? It just seemed impossible that this child would be the end of his mother and all of her kingdom.

The faint sound of a howl caught his attention, and brought his focus onto where a dog was emerging from a line of the trees. The visual brought a smile to his face at seeing one of his hounds coming back.

 _Ah...There is one now._

However, his smile didn't last on his face. His eyes continued to watch from where he stood and only saw the one running across the flat piece of land. The rest of the pack was nowhere in sight and this one was running with a bit of a limp to it. Markus hurried down from where he was towards the injured dog and knelt down. He waited for the dog to lie before him before he noticed that he had been slashed out on his fur and that he was greatly tired.

"It seems like whoever has the baby knew what the dogs were sent for."

Markus didn't have to turn to see who it was that was speaking to him for he knew it to be his sister, Sorscha. His eyes remained focused on the injured dog before him. One of his hands pressed down on the wound as he drew in a breath of air. Focusing his dark power residing with him that he inherited from his mother, an emerald green light seeped from the center of his hand and into the body of the dog before him, beginning the process of healing its wounds. He kept his focus on the beast as he issued his response to his sister.

"Yes...And whoever they are know how to fend off our wild dogs with blades."

"Perhaps these people are much more of a challenge for us than we once thought of them to be."

"No group of people can stand up to the might of Bavmorda and her children."

Releasing his hand from his dog, it warmed his heart to find the hound back to its normal self. He smiled to the dog before rising up and looked to where Sorscha stood with a firm expression on her face, matching the town in her voice.

"We will have to be extra vigiliant now, brother. Whoever has this baby is prepared to make sure that we do not take her from them."

"Even if that may be, we are more stronger then them, and will conquer them to get the child."

"And what if it is the same for the woman of the prophecy that you are to marry? What if there are those around her that will keep her from being taken so easily?"

"I will be more fierce and lethal with them for they have something that I treasure greatly and that is meant to be with me as I am meant to be with her."

Markus glanced over to where a tall tree stood, and used his force of will to cause the tree to split down the middle as if a bolt of lightning had done the job. He looked at it for a few moments before returning his attention to his sibling.

"Trust me when I say this, Sorscha...Whoever has Sophia, will pay with their lives. Simple...as...that."

"We need to go to bed now for the sun is starting to fall. We have to continue our quest early in the morning."

"Very well, sister."

He watched her head back to camp before looked over to the tree that he had literally destroyed with his own making. Whoever had the baby, as well as Sophia, would pay severely for keeping him from getting the child of the prophecy and the woman that was to be his bride. His eyes lingered on the tree for a few more moments before he pulled them away from it and started towards his camp to settle in for the evening since the sun was now setting behind the tall mountains in the distance.


	11. Chapter 11

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story. I will not make any profit from this and I own nothing in it. I do encourage though for you to check out my books I have on Kindle under my author name, Janessa Anderson.

Chapter Eleven

The following morning, Sophia was sitting up with the baby in her arms. She had her cradled against her chest as she sat with her on a log while the men were loading up things from their camp. A smile danced across her face as she watched infant smile up at her.

"You are such a beautiful little girl." She softly whispered to the infant. "I don't know why someone would wish to do you harm."

The baby cooed up at her from where she was nestled in her arms, causing her to smile a bit more and lightly chuckle. Sophia rocked the child a bit more from where she was nestled before moving to where the men were finishing with getting camp picked up as she spoke to her.

"Well...I will take care of you until we can find someone to care for you much better. I promise-"

Anything else that she would have gotten out of her mouth fell silent due to the sound of horses. Her eyes shot to her father and the men that had journeyed with them in time to see them motioning her over to them. Sophia hurried over and into a ditch with them where she lied with the baby in her arms as her father was at her side. Tilting her head up, her eyes watched in horror at the site that had started to unfold before them.

Several men in the same black leather that she had seen from Markus out in the field rode in the area where they had just been resting the night before. They looked over the place with ferocity as one of the men called out.

"They were just here!"

Sophia eased the baby to her father so she could look better without being seen. Her eyes noticed how there were several of them and there was no telling if they would find them or not. She glanced to her father and the others, and knew that someone had to get them away and she was that person.

"I am going to distract them," Sophia whispered to Willow, "and you all get as far away from here as you can."

"No!" Willow shouted to her in his whispery response. "You are not going to do that! You are not going to rush head long into a battle with those men!"

"I am only going to distract them so they can follow me for awhile so you and the others can get to the crossroads a lot quicker."

"Sophia, you are not doing this! I forbid it!"

"I am sorry you feel that way, father, and I hope you forgive me one day."

Not giving her father a chance to try and restrain her, Sophia hurried from where she had been as the men had their backs to her. She brought a hand up towards her face, and used several of her fingers with her mouth to cause a whistle unlike anything the horses may have heard of. Her eyes watched the horses knock the men down and run off with a smile before she saw them focus on her. Once she had their attention, Sophia gave a bit of a playful wave in their direction prior to taking off through the woods to the east. As she ran, their voices echoed to her ears.

"Get her!"

"Don't let that wench get away!"

 _Oh really? They want to call myself a wench? Well...I will give them something to really think about then._

Her body ran at a speed that was almost as fast and as hard as the wind was blowing at the moment as she looked up the path in time to see a tree with a low hanging branch. A smirk danced across her face as she managed to get the branch and pull it around to where she could hide on the other side of the tree. Her ears listened as the footsteps got closer and waited for the right moment as they were just feet away now.

 _1...2...3!_

Her hands released the low hanging branch with the sound of groans coming soon afterward. Peeking her head around where she had been hiding, Sophia grinned at the men that had been on horses to be on the ground before her now. She dusted her hands off before checking the path once more and hurrying down a flattened path that would lead her in the direction of the Daikini crossroads, exactly where her father was heading off to at the moment.


	12. Chapter 12

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story that I will not make any profit from and I own nothing.

Chapter Twelve

The sun was reaching noon in the sky when Markus arrived to an area with several of his own men and his sister, Sorscha. His eyes danced over the visual of where it was very clear that someone had been there. He dismounted from the horse he had been riding and went up to an area where it seemed some tents had been set up. His body squatted down close to the earth so he could get a better view of something had caught his eye.

There were several footprints that were human but small like a child all over the area. It seemed as if there were about 6 of them and they had fled to an area for safety.

"It appears that there is more than one person that might have the baby of the prophecy, Sorscha." Markus called to her. "This might cause a problem for us."

"It will not matter." Sorscha replied, remaining on her horse. "We will cut them down."

He shook his head due to having guessed that was the answer that his sister was going to go with. His eyes darted over to where there was a set of footprints heading off towards a path. He noticed that the size was that of a normal sized human and had a slender appearance to it, giving it off that it was a female.

 _Wait...What is a woman doing all the way out here?-_

His attention drifted over to a few of his men staggering into the area. He straightened up as he focused on the trio while his ears listened to one of them speaking up.

"We couldn't stop her, my lord." One of the men said, gasping for air.

"Who?" Markus asked, intently. "Who could you not stop?"

"I don't know her name, but...I managed to catch a glimpse of something along a side of her neck."

His heart nearly stopped at what the man was telling him. Could it be that Sophia was out here and traveling with the group of individuals who had the baby his mother so desperately wished to kill. Markus moved towards him a bit more with a fierce gaze growing in his eyes as well as his deep voice as he spoke up.

"What did you see?"

"I...I saw what looked to be a dove on her neck before I passed out."

"Where did she go?"

"She headed off in the direction of the crossroads...Towards the south." The man pointed. "She went down the trail that we were lying on."

 _There is no way that I can go after the baby and Sophia if they have been split up. I have to split up from Sorscha._

His body nearly ran over to his horse and jumped on its back. He shot a look towards his sister before he spouted off to her, loudly.

"You are to take these men with you to go after the baby while my men will ride with me towards the direction of the crossroads."

"Markus," Sorscha stated, "We are not to split up-"

"I don't care what mother has told you or whatever elder told you that. Sophia is out here and has split with the band of people who have the child of the prophecy. If we are to cover any ground whatsoever, we must split up for now."

He clearly saw on his sister's face that she was not wanting to do this at all but gave a nod in agreement. This was his chance to capture Sophia and make sure this time she didn't escape him like she had last time. Nothing would stop him from capturing the woman that was to be his bride and marry her, either before his mother or with the nearest pastor that would perform the job.

Drawing in a breath, Markus kicked the sides of his horse as hard as he could and raced off towards the path with several men in hot pursuit of Sophia with the intention of claiming her for him and him alone.


	13. Chapter 13

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story. No profit will be made from it and I own nothing in it.

Chapter Thirteen

The sun had rose up to the highest point in the sky, signaling it was noon, and the temperature had begun to rise along with it.

Moving under the shade of the tall trees in the woods, Sophia desperately tried to keep the quick pace that she had been moving at to get as far ahead of the men that had went after her. She needed to keep distance as to keep them from finding where she was so quickly and to get to her father and his men in time before she was captured.

Her body went a few more steps until it reached a part in the trail where a rock was positioned in just the right angle where it was protruding from the ground and would give shelter to someone in need of hiding and she stopped herself.

 _I need to catch my breath...At least for a few moments._

Sophia bent herself slightly over to work on letting her lungs take a break from her heavy breathing, as well as her legs from how hard she had pushed them to get to where she was at. Her mouth inhaled and released numerous amounts of heavy breaths while she could feel her muscles already starting to slowly relax from the hurried speed she forced them to move at.

 _Just a few more moments and I should be-_

The faint sound of horses hurrying in her direction caused her to straighten herself up with a look of fear forming across the soft, fair complexion of her face. She looked back down the way she had been coming from, and listened for the direction that they were moving in. Her rising dread only increased when the sounds she heard told her they were coming right to where she was.

 _I have to find somewhere to hide...and quick!_

Her frantic breathing returned with a vengeance as she looked around the area she was in for a place for her to hide in. It was when she remembered the overhanging rock that she quickly moved off the trail, and maneuvered herself on the downhill slope that went down the hill to where a flat and open field was positioned. Sophia slipped herself underneath the cover of the rock without a moment to spare just as her ears clearly heard the sound of horses in the exact spot she had run from coming to a complete stop.

 _Just be calm, Sophia. Remain calm...and don't make a sound._

She silently encouraged herself to keep from letting herself slip, and reveal her location to those that were above her. If there was any chance she had left to get out of there without her being found out, silence would be her only sign of hope for that to happen.

It was when she caught the sound of a familiar and deep voice that sent chills up and down her spine.

"She is around here somewhere."

It was Markus. He had been the one tracking her and now he was standing overhead of her with several others from the sound of the number of horses that were there with him. She remembered him being determined in telling her that she was to be with him and and knew that he would not let her slip again if he happened to see her.

"Her footprints are clear as day in the dirty here. She can't be far away."

Sophia silently cursed herself when it dawned on her that he was good at looking for tracks in the dirt. In her village, she was the one among men and women to spot a track when no one else could. She was being matched right now, and knew that even silence would not be able to help her now in escaping from Markus. Her eyes looked down to open field below at the bottom of the hill that she was nestled on, and focused on it.

 _That is my only way out of here. I have to make a run for it...and hope that Markus doesn't catch me._

Drawing in a deep breath of air, Sophia forced herself back to her feet, and quickly started to make a desperate run down the hill in the direction of the cleared piece of land with whatever bit of strength she had left in her.


	14. Chapter 14

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story. I own nothing in it and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter Fourteen

"There she goes!"

The sound of one of his men screaming out that he had spotted the woman he had been searching the woods for had him snapping his eyes in the direction of where the man was only to see him pointing out in front of them. Looking in the very same direction, Markus gazed upon the beautiful form of Sophia, the woman destined to be his bride and wife, hurrying down the slope hill from where she had been hiding underneath where he had been standing the whole time.

 _She won't get away this time._

Focusing on the dark powers that are nestled deep inside of his body, he willed his body to move quickly down the hill with ease, not showing the least bit of difficulty. It was because he was the son of Queen Bavmorda and that he was her first born that he was able to inherit the very same powers and abilities she possessed instead of his sister obtaining any of them.

Reaching down the bottom of the hill, Markus took a few more wide strides towards her body trying to get away from him with a simple green gown swaying a bit with her movements. He waited for her to make the move turn slightly before one of his arms reached out, wrapped around her waist, and pulled her right up against his body. Once he had gotten her in his grasp, a smile danced across his face and words came out of his mouth in his deep voice.

"We meet again, Sophia."

His eyes watched a look of shock form across her face at the realization that he had captured her and that there was nothing to prevent him from taking her away with him. The visual had his smile remaining on his face while his body tightened up on the inside at knowing that she was in his embrace with no means of getting away from him again.

"This time...I won't let you slip away so easily from me."

With her body nestled right up against his own, he couldn't ignore the feelings and urges that had immediately started to build up inside of his body. The sensations of her round, firm breasts pressing against his black leather vest and her curvaceous body being nestled within his arms only heightened his need to rise up even more. He wanted to take her at that very moment, and claim her for him and him alone.

 _Soon...Soon, we will be one with one another...but not right now._

It felt like torture to him to have to wait until later on for him and her to become one with one another. He wanted to lie her down right there on the ground of the open field that he had ran to in order to capture her body in his arms. However, it would not be the best idea since his men would be able to watch the whole thing happen between him and her. When that moment was to come in the very near future, Markus planned to make sure that the only people that were present with Sophia and himself. He wanted to be the only man to savor and enjoy the pleasure of the moment with his beautiful bride.

Turning back towards the hill, he gazed upon his men coming down to where he was with his horse being walked beside one of the riders coming down on their own horses. Markus waited for the horse to come right up to him before he lifted Sophia onto the back of it and climbed right on behind her. His hands worked quickly to get a hold of the reins with his arms on either side of her to keep her from jumping down before he had them heading on their way. Shifting his attention back to his men, he spoke in a stern tone to them.

"Let us ride on to the nearest township for us to spend the evening since night will be coming very soon. I wish to have some rest...and spend some much needed time with my bride."

He didn't glance down to see the look of anxiousness on her angelic face because he already could sense it as he turned his horse in a direction and went racing off towards a section of the woods with his group of men that had left Sorscha to follow him moving at a similiar speed on their own horses.


	15. Chapter 15

Note: This is primarily a fanfiction based story only. I do not own anything in this story and I will not be making any profit from it.

Chapter Fifteen

Every muscle in Sophia's body tightened on the spot from the knowledge that she was being taken in a direction that was away from where her father was heading and moving in one that she was not familiar with. Her eyes did their best to survey the surroundings, making an attempt to soak in where they were traveling through and to watch for anyone up ahead that might be able to get her off of the horse and away from Markus and his men.

She needed to get back to her father and the others. No doubt that he would be worried about her once she didn't show up at the crossroads to help them find the baby a new home. He was waiting for her to be there, but she wouldn't be there. Instead of meeting back up with the only man she knew as her father and the men that she had been raised around, she was being rode off in a direction with several men who had their own purpose for the small infant child that her father and the others were protecting.

However, there was something else that was creeping inside of her body that she didn't count on showing up. A heat had begun to build up in the pit of her stomach the instant that Markus's tall and muscular body brushed up against the backside of her own frame and only increased with them being right against one another on the back of his tall black stallion. It was a feeling that she knew that she shouldn't be feeling for the one person who had abducted her and was taking her on the path they had in mind, but it was one that felt very tempting to let grow deep within her.

A jolt went all the way through her body to the very core of her being out of nowhere due to the warmth and heat radiating from one of Markus's hands pressing against the midsection of her body, holding her as close as he could to him. Her eyes widened from the gesture because she felt a bulge rubbing against her from behind and knew that he was becoming aroused. Struggling to remain calm on the horse, Sophia listened to the sound of his deep voice whispering in to one of her ears.

"It won't be much longer, my dear Sophia." Markus said, hovering his mouth over one of her ears to where his lips were barely touching it. "We will be arriving to a town any moment now, and we will be able to rest from the ride...and spend some time with one another this evening."

That was what she was afraid of. The idea of being alone with a man who she didn't know at all in a room for a whole night. Not only was she going to be staying with a complete stranger, but he happened to be one that was claiming her as his bride and one that was making it very hard on her to not be turned on by how he was rubbing against her from behind with his body due to the motions of the horse and his hand that had moved to her body remaining on her midsection.

"Is it not possible for me to have my own room at wherever we are staying at?" Sophia asked, knowing that more than likely he would refuse her request.

"I do apologize, my lady, but that is not going to be an option."

"Why is that?"

"Because you are my bride and you are to be with me, and I am not going to take a risk of you trying to escape and make a run for it."

Damn him. He knew that she wanted to be separated from him for one of the reasons being to make a run for it. If she had been given her own room, she would have been to able to at least make an effort to take off. Staying in a room with him was not going to give her that option at all.

It also scared her that he knew the other reason as to why she didn't wish to stay in the same room with him. He considered her to be his bride and that she belonged with him which meant that he wanted to do things with her that she was not well experienced in or wishing to partake in. Her father and mother had done a good job with raising her in a way to where she was not seeking sexual encounters with strange men but putting all of her effort and energy into her own studies and helping her parents with the little ones and chores. She was still a virgin and never once had let a man get as close to her as Markus was, and knowing that there might be a chance of something sexual happening between him and her frightened and excited her at the same time.

Another shiver ran through her body as his hand traveled up her body, slowly and sensually to rest underneath her head on her chin. She fought with all of her might to keep her voice from sounding shaky as she spoke once more, giving it another shot to be defiant despite it being a losing battle.

"You could always pick out a room where there are windows for me stay in."

"I am afraid not, my lady."

"You could pick a room right next to yours and lock me inside of it to keep me from running off if you are that concerned me trying to escape and make a run for it."

"That simply won't do."

"Why?"

She received her answer in the form of his hand that had been underneath her chin to be turning her head to where she had to look up at him. Every muscle in her body, including those between her legs, tightened from the intense and piercing stare that she was receiving from him. Sophia looked upon him to find his face starting to lean down towards hers slowly as he spoke.

"I don't intend to lock up a beautiful dove...I plan to take care of it and give it everything it wants."

Before she could get out another word, Sophia found his strong lips crashing down against her tender ones, silencing any other word that might have been on its way out of her mouth at the moment. Her eyes fluttered due to the shock of the moment. There was a power in the kiss that kept her from trying to break it, but there was something else that made her very nervous about it: She didn't want him to stop kissing her.


	16. Chapter 16

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story. I own nothing and I will not profit from this story

Chapter Sixteen

Markus let his lips place a brief kiss upon the soft lips of Sophia, allowing himself to give into the moment. What he was doing was the last thing on his mind. He had not planned on doing what he was at the moment with her. His intention was just to talk to her on the way to the next township where his men and himself could get a room at an inn and rest there instead of camping out in their tents. He wished to get to know the woman that he planned to claim as his mate away from the prying eyes of his sister and his mother.

However, his own emotions and desires for the fiery brunette that was nestled right in front of him with her back against the front side of his body had built up. The motions of their bodies continuously rubbing against one another did not give him a peace of mind, and it caused a bulge to start forming deep inside of the confines of his leather pants. He couldn't ignore what it was doing to him, and how much he truly wanted her at that moment. If there was a perfect moment to share a kiss with her in a way that would truly take her breath away for the first time, this was the time.

Once his mouth crashed against hers, the sweetness of her lips seeped all through his body, only adding fuel to the already raging fire deep inside of his body. He had an idea that once he had made contact with her lips with his own that there would be a very pleasurable sensation following it.

He didn't count on this happening at all.

The last thing that Markus expected was that he would become highly turned on once their mouths collided with one another, and started to savor what each had to offer. Their lips moving along with each other in a slow motion only highly excited him and had his hormones going in overdrive deep within his muscular physique. He slowed his horse down a bit where it had been moving behind his men that were riding ahead of him due to the intense moment that he was sharing with his chosen mate. His lips continued to move along with hers, not wishing to break the moment with her.

 _Just a little while longer...Just a little bit more..._

Markus let his lips linger upon hers for awhile more, wanting to taste what she had to offer him. He needed that moment with her. She had been on his mind since disappeared in the woods that day he was out in the area. Now, he was able to get to share a brief, intimate moment with her that was just a small taste of what was to come for them later on that night. The idea of it ending did not please him at all, but he knew that he had to break it before his passions had him moving more forward than he believed she was prepared for.

Forcing his mouth away from hers, he looked down upon her, and watched her eyes blink several times before she was able to focus on him. The clear sign of her being taken away by the kiss and not being revolted by it, but being in awe of it, raised his spirits a little bit more. Markus first thought once he broke it that she would be disgusted with him for his advance on her and not giving her a chance to fight him back. Seeing her to not be against what he had done brought a smile to his face.

Moving his eyes away from her, he focused on his men awaiting him at the top of a hill. He picked the speed up to where they were and stood among them on the back of his horse with Sophia still against his body. His eyes gazed down upon a medium sized township before them. Markus kept his eyes fixated on it even though he knew that she was looking on at it with him. He took a few more moments before speaking back up.

"Let us go find this town's Inn."


	17. Chapter 17

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based storyline. I own nothing and having nothing to do with the film Willow or any of its characters and nothing to do with the WWE or the character of The Undertaker. This was created only for pure amusement and enjoyment of both.

Chapter Seventeen

Fear gripped every part of Sophia's body more intensely the instant she registered Markus to be leading the way down the hill to where a small town was nestled at the bottom of it in hopes of finding a place to rest for the night, and the fact that she would be spending the night alone with someone that was not a family member or a dear friend of hers from back at the village. It truly frightened her down to the very core of her being to know that she was fixing to be in a room alone with someone who just shared a highly fiery kiss with her on the back of a horse, and there would be no escape from his grasp.

Deep down inside of her being, there was another reason as to why she was scared to be alone with Markus: Lust.

Her lips craved for more of his kisses against them and to return back to where they had been, pressed firmly against hers. The intimate moment between herself and him left her wanting more and yearning for what he had to offer for her. It was never her intent to becoming this dependent on something from a man in all of her life. She had always taken care of herself if there was a need that had rose up inside of her and didn't rely on the aid of a man to do the job for her.

However, it seemed at that moment this was something that she wouldn't be able to take care of alone, and her unquenchable desire for Markus would not be satisfied until she got another taste from his luscious lips once more.

Her eyes started to dart around the surroundings of the township that he had brought her to, soaking in the atmosphere that she was now in. Much of what was before her and around her reminded her of her village back home. There were children running around the area, giggling and laughing with one another, women discussing the latest news and gossip with each other, and men talking to one another, as well as shooting glances towards the young maidens in the village, including herself.

It was in the instance that she started to register one of the younger men looking at her with a look on his face that was quite clearly showing he was gawking at her that her curvaceous body registered one of Markus's arms pulling her back firmly against him than she originally was. She looked up out of the corner of her eye, and was surprised at what she had found there.

The very man that had found her in the field, saved her from a pack of his wild dogs, abducted her from the woods, and placed such a kiss on her that would make any woman in the world fall to their knees from the strength of it was glaring at the younger man who had chose to look upon her the way that he had with an expression that made it appear if he could that he would be shooting daggers at him from his pupils.

It become quite clear to Sophia at that moment as to why that Markus was behaving in such a way: He was being protective and possessive of her. He didn't wish for anything to endanger her or anyone to try and take her away form him. Markus was not going to let someone come along and steal her away as easily as he had managed to steal her away from the woodlands.

Turning her focus over towards a spot, she noticed the men riding up to where an Inn was located in the town and tying the horses to a post. Her eyes watched the men hop down and grab their belongings before heading inside of the establishment. The sensation of Markus's body sliding off of the horse from behind her caused her to turn her head and find him looking up at her with his hands extended towards her direction as he spoke to her in a surprisingly calm and tender tone in his deep voice.


	18. Chapter 18

Note: This is a purely fanfiction based story. I will not make any profit off of it and I don't own anything or have anything to do with the characters mentioned in the story.

Chapter Eighteen

"Allow me, my lady."

Markus offered for him to assist her off of the back of his stallion they had been traveling on in order to reach the township they had come to since the idea of her trying to get off of it by herself and possibly falling down onto the hard earth beneath his boots didn't settle well with him. If she would let him, he planned on to help her off of his horse and assist her inside of the Inn.

His watched her reacting with a little bit of hesitance on her part as she gave a nod of her head towards him, giving him permission to see about easing her off of the back of his horse. The physical response to his request provided him with a sense of comfort that she was slowly starting to trust him even though there was some uncertainity about him still lingering there withing her eyes, as well as her body language.

Nodding his head to her, he stepped up a little closer to the horse, and slid his strong hands onto each side of her waist. Markus guided her off of the horse and onto the ground in front of her. His eyes met hers like they had on the ride there to the township when they had shared their first yet brief passionate kiss with one another.

Almost instantly, the very same urges returned with a vengeance, clawing away at the insides of his body to goad him into sharing another passionate encounter with the young woman who was destined to be his since their birth. His hormones ran wild as images of what he would like to do to her started to flood his head and begun to even affect his dick as it slowly began to harden deep inside the confines of his leather pants.

Realizing what was going on, Markus struggled to keep his inner feelings in check, as he stepped to the side of her and showed his arm for her to take. He never let his eyes leave her, preparing to watch her if she tried to escape from him. There would be no chance for her to flee the area for he was very skilled and had powers that she was not aware of as of yet. If she did try to make a run for it, he would have no choice but to expose those powers right there in front of not only herself but the people of the township.

He was pleasantly surprised when he found her slowly easing one of her hands on the inside of his arm and clinging to his elbow. The sight brought a smile to his face as he looked upon her expression of nervousness mixed with curiosity. Markus turned towards the direction of the front door of the Inn and proceeded up the stairs with her as the voice of his lustful thoughts started to whisper at him.

 _You have her where you want her, Markus. You can now do with her as much as you desire. No one is going to be able to stop you from what you wish now that you will be alone with Sophia tonight and there will be no place for her to run to._

Markus understood exactly as to what it was suggesting to him, and he didn't even try to argue with it like he normally would. Everything that it was whispering was the truth. He had Sophia now all to himself and there would be no one to try and take her away from him if they wanted to stay alive and she would not be able to escape him so easily with them being alone together in a room instead of being in an open field like they had before when she managed to flee from him before he could take her back to his mother's home.

Approaching the door of the inn, he opened up the door and guided her to walk in ahead of him as thoughts and images of what the night was to bring for the two of them flooded his mind.


	19. Chapter 19

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story and I own nothing mentioned in the story. I only wrote this for entertainment.

Chapter Nineteen

As she entered the Inn that Markus had brought her to, Sophia couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of anxiety gripping at every fiber of her being due to the realization of what was ahead for herself there within the walls of the Inn, especially within the very room that he would no doubt be taking her to where she would rooming alongside him.

In all of her days, she had never assumed that she would be in the situation she was currently in at the moment. There wasn't a time that she could recall on the spot where a man had abducted her from the woodland area near her home, and had her in close proximity to him to prevent her from running away from him, especially when it came to taking her to a room where she would have to share it with them.

 _Where could my father be right now? I would surely think that he would choose to abandon the men he was with and come after me when he saw me take off in a direction to divert Markus's attention away from him and the baby we had in our possession._

Grief and dread started to consume the innermost parts of her being. Sophia had assumed that her father would come running after her when she had chose to sacrifice herself to get the attention away from them since he had forbidden her from the decision she had made in taking off from him and the other men. However, it appeared to her at that moment her beloved father was in fact not coming after her, and that she was left to fend for herself.

Her body tightened up on the spot due to one of Markus's strong hands applying pressure onto her back. In that moment, Sophia discovered him leaning his strong mouth down to one of her hears before picking up on the deep tone in his voice slipping out of his lips in the form of a whisper that had a hint of sensuality to it.

"Let's head over to where the man is at the front desk to see about getting a room, and then we can upstairs to settle in for the rest of the evening with one another."

 _I was afraid that you would say that._

Every fiber of her being screamed at her to make a run for the door to the Inn, and dart towards the direction of the very woods that she had come from with him having her to ride on front of him on his horse. The only issue with that in her own opinion was simply that there was no way in hell that she could make it out of there without him catching her. The place was highly crowded with all kinds of people in there, and Markus wouldn't have to put much effort in ensnaring her around the waist with one of his strong arms and pulling her right up against him.

The idea of being up against his muscular frame like she was on the horse prior to him stealing a kiss from her lit a little fire inside of her that fed the excitement she had managed to dull previous. When their lips had made contact with one another, it had sent a rush through her that made every other emotion she had felt previously pale in comparison to it. Sophia found it to be like an addiction that she couldn't truly get over. The only thing she could consider it close to feeling like was a high that she didn't want to come down from at any point.

This new sensation made it a little difficult in her movement towards the front desk with Markus's hand guiding her movements along with his own. She managed to work through the struggling and conflicting emotions that were raging deep inside of her body in order to allow herself to move without him having to force her to move. Maneuvering around the throngs of people that were there in the vicinity that she was in with Markus, Sophia managed to walk up to the front desk and focus on the man that stood behind the counter as he begun to speak towards Markus and herself.


	20. Chapter 20

Note: This is just a fanfiction story. I do not own any of the characters involved with this storyline, nor will I be making any profit from it.

Chapter Twenty

"I need one room please."

Markus didn't hesitate at all in asking for a room from the man behind the desk. He had been on the road long enough, and wanted to get to a room in order to relax from his journey his mother had put him on. Although he had managed to capture the woman that was to be his queen, the journey was not yet complete.

In order for the task that his mother had set out for him to be completely done, he would also have to capture the small baby that held the prophecy of ending his mother and bring it to her. It puzzled him greatly how an infant could hold the key of ruining his mother and bringing about her own damnation. Nevertheless, he had intended to make sure that he did what was necessary in order to achieve his goal in aquiring the baby now that he had Sophia within his grasp.

His eyes watched the gentleman on the other side of the desk scan over the various keys before picking out one on the top row of them. He gazed upon him turning around and looking at both him and Sophia with a smile on his face as he extended it.

"Here you go, sir, and I am sure that both the lovely lady and yourself will find it quite comfortable."

Deep inside of his being, every muscle in his body tightened up right on the spot when he noticed the man to be smiling at her and speaking of her when she had not made herself known in the conversation. He had only brought her up when his eyes happened to notice her to be standing right next to his body, and begun to smile at the sight of her. The sensations coursing through his body was brought on by only one emotion.

Jealousy.

Markus didn't want any man, including the one who was responsible for assigning rooms to the guests there, to be looking upon Sophia in the manner that he was or addressing her in a way that was flattering or complimenting. She belonged to him, and he wanted to be the only one who spoke such words to her and looked upon her in a way that would give her a fluttering her heart. The idea of another man being the one to give her the things he wished to set his soul on fire with hatred.

He struggled with his inner emotions as his hand accepted the key from the man that showed it to him before directing his attention to where Sophia was standing at his side. His eyes found her to be on edge about the whole idea of going upstairs with him and staying in such close quarters with him. It was quite evident to him as well that she was trying to hide something else from him that was noticeable upon her face and that was a desire that he had brought to life the moment that he had stolen a kiss from her on the back of his horse. Every time that he would get closer to her, it would just make her crave him more than she truly wanted to admit.

The knowledge of her inner feelings towards him starting to emerge on her face before his eyes began to calm down the heated anger that was boiling over inside of himself, and allowed himself to focus more on the passionate thoughts he had inside of his mind for the two of them during the course of their time they would spend there. With his attention shifting on things that were more pleasurable for not just himself but her as well, Markus leaned down to one of her ears, and whispered inside of it in a way that was dripping with the pure, unadulterated sensuality that was smoldering inside of his being for her.

"Let's head upstairs to our room, Sophia."


	21. Chapter 21

Note: This is purely a fanfiction based story. No profit will be made from it. I only wrote this out of admiration of the film, Willow, and of my favorite wrestler, The Undertaker

Chapter Twenty-One

 _This is not what I was really wanting to hear at the moment._

Sophia's nerves were already shot to the end due to her being away from her father and the people she had been brought up around all of her life since she had been taken in by Willow and his wife, the only mother she truly had grown up knowing. All that she wanted was to return back home to be with the ones that loved her with the same type of love that she had for them. The last thing that she wanted at the moment was to go up to a room that Markus had gotten for him and her to spend the night in.

She was still a virgin. No man had ever been intimate with her during the course of her life at all. None of the men back in her village home would even try to hold her hand or kiss her cheek. Knowing that there was a really good chance that Markus would be taking her virginity that very night did not sit well with her. Sophia wished to keep a hold on the one gift that only her husband would be given on their wedding night instead of being intimidated by the dark individual that had stolen her away from her family and all those that she held dear to her heart.

Gathering up as much strength that she could manage, Sophia turned herself in the direction of where a staircase was nestled, and begun moving towards it. She gripped the sides of her dress with her fingernails digging into the skirt of it out of a need to hold onto something to keep the obvious shakiness they were experiencing from being noticed by the others that were near her or even to the piercing gaze of Markus.

The distance between herself and the staircase that led up to the rooms that were above the tavern had dwindled down to being very little when she felt the sensation of a hand grabbing onto her backside, harshly. The sensation snapped herself out of the state she had been in and back to reality. Turning her attention to where she had felt the hand come from, Sophia locked her eyes on a filthy, drunkard eyeing her in a perverted manner. She cringed in disgust at seeing the stare she got from him, as well as from the words coming out of his mouth in her direction.

"Such a pretty young lass you are." He said, chuckling. "Why not you come up to my room with me for a little bit of fun?"

 _I think that I am going to be sick._

The idea of going to a room for the night with Markus alone made her fear for what would await her. However, the idea of going to bed with this pathetic piece of life made her stomach churn in a way that would make her physically sick. There was no way she would even consider going to a room to be alone with the man that had grabbed her ass with his filthy hands and smelt of nothing but the alcohol that he was drinking.

Sophia proceeded to issue a response back to the vile man at the question that he had asked of her in a perverted way when her eyes noticed Markus to be looking at the man with deadly intent. She had never seen the look on his face before on any man back in the village she was raised in. As her eyes soaked in his stare, as well as his body language, she clearly knew what was behind the reasoning for the way he was fixated on the man.

Protection. He was planning to protect her at all cost despite making her uneasy with the idea of going to bed with him upstairs in the spare rooms that the tavern would rent out. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to keep her safe, and deal with the animal that had dared to put his hand on her in an unwanted gesture.

Keeping her gaze focused on the man that had abducted her from the woods, Sophia watched Markus slowly walk towards the man that was nestled in a chair at the little round table that had numerous empty tankards scattered about it. She drew in a breath of air, and watched with anticipation to discover what he would have to say to the person who wished to have her go to their room and not to the room that he had gotten for the two of them.


	22. Chapter 22

Note: This is a fanfiction only story. No profit will be made from it and I own nothing in it.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Keep your hands to yourself."

Markus spoke with authority and darkness to the fool who had dared to reach out and touch his mate. No man would place a finger on her and lived in his eye. Any one that would be stupid enough to think it would be okay to touch her in an inappropriate way would pay a severe price for their actions.

His intense gaze never left that of the man that was reclined slightly in his chair. He watched the man flash him a coy smirk before rising to sit upright in the seat prior to standing up. Markus tilted his head down slightly due to the man being shorter in height than himself by a foot. With his gaze remaining on his the entire time, he picked up on the sound of a chuckle in his voice as he begun to make it appear that he was not afraid of him or what he could possibly do to him.

"Oh really? You think that you can make me stop from reaching out and touching the lovely lady?"

"I don't think...I know."

"Any woman that comes in here is free game to the men for them to enjoy her body and company."

"She is my mate, and I won't allow anyone in this room to so much as touch her without it coming with a very high cost."

"Big words coming from a big man. That tells me that perhaps you are trying to make up for something being not so big."

"The only one that is clearly not big enough to be called a man is standing right in front of me, thinking that he can possibly take down someone that is on a level much higher than himself."

Markus got a little bit of pleasure towards the man from what he said to him due to laughter breaking out in various areas around the area he was in with him. His eyes never left the man as he soaked in his obvious frustration with him for what he said to him. Keeping his attention on him and solely him, he caught him bringing a hand back and shooting it forward in the shape of a fist to punch him in the face. Markus didn't even hesitate as he reached with one of his hands, wrapped his iron grip around the wrist of the hand, and twisted it. He watched a look of pain come across the man's face as he used his strength to force the man down onto his knees. His eyes never left his, wishing to soak in all the pain and suffering he was having him to endure.

Growing up, Markus always enjoyed causing the misfortune of someone who had been foolish to strike out at him without even considering what he was capable of doing. There was nothing that made him feel more alive than that.

However, as he had this man on the ground, a soft, sweet voice called out to him, snapping his focus away from the pain that he was causing and enjoying.

"Markus, let him go!"

Markus turned his gaze towards the direction where he heard the voice and found the woman that was to be his bride and queen to be the one who had issued the cry, pleading with him to let him go and to stop what he was doing to the man. Her eyes spoke thousands of words to him. She wished for him to release him due to finding the scene before herself to be highly upsetting.. Sophia's distress for what he was doing moved him enough to stop exactly what he used to find pleasure in doing for she had become a new source of pleasure and delight that made his former joys pale in comparison.

Shoving the man away from him and onto the floor, Markus made his way up to where she was standing, and slipped one of his strong arms around her waist. He glanced once more at the man on the ground before easing her towards the stairs, whispering softly into one of her ears.

"I am sorry for what you had to see, but I did what had to be done for him to realize that you are not one of the harlots in this tavern. You belong to me and me alone, and no man will go unpunished if he puts his hand on you."


	23. Chapter 23

Note: This is a fanfiction based story. I own none of the characters involved in the story. This was just written for fun.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sophia was in awe of the words coming from Markus to her as they had started to make their way up the stairs. It never dawned on her that he would apologize for what he had done in front of her to a man that took it upon himself to touch her in a way that was not acceptable. He didn't appear the type of person to issue an apology for doing something that he probably was used to doing prior to having met her.

However, Markus did just that. He told her that he was sorry for what he had done in front of her, but that it was to get the point across to the man, as well as the whole tavern, that she was not one of the local women in the area who frequented the place and were free for the men to have fun with. She was his alone, and no other man was going to put his hand on her unless they wished to pay for it with their lives.

Moving up the stairs with him at her side, she couldn't help but be impressed by his actions. Her mind couldn't recall a single time back in the village where one of the men would do the same for a woman that was their bride or wife that another man was interested in. Everyone seemed to get alone pretty well with one another, and the men there were brought up in a way to respect women in a manner that would make them feel good while at the same time the women would show respect for both the men that they were associated with and with themselves in regards to being around a large group of men. It seemed that she was being taken out of the world she was used to growing up and thrusted into one that she had no preparation for.

Her body started to shiver a little more once she had gotten to the top of the stairs with Markus at her side. The time for them to be alone with one another was getting closer, meaning that her virginity would possibly be taken from her by him if he chose to take her to bed that night. She didn't wish to think of it as it only caused her to be more anxious and on edge, but there was no getting around it. The fear of sleeping with the man that had abducted her on her way to meet her father and the baby she had been tending to as if it was her own child slowly ate away at her. She was not ready for the task at hand, and had no idea as what was going to happen once they got into the room with one another.

She had proceeded to move from the stairs with her head bowed a bit out of dread when her body registered a little tug on her waist from Markus. Sophia drew in a breath of air prior to looking in the direction of his face only to find him looking down at her with a hint of sensuality burning within his piercing stare but something overshadowing it: Concern. Her eyes remained focused on his while she picked up on the sound of a tone in his deep voice that matched the stare coming from his eyes.

"Sophia, what is wrong?"

His question was one that she had been asked before many times back home from her parents, neighbors and her friends. It was something that she was used to hearing from time to time. However, when Markus asked the question, she was a bit caught off guard at first since the way he asked it made it seem like her distress she was dealing with was of an urgent matter that needed to be dealt with instead of pushed under the rug. She tried to remain calm as she gazed into his eyes while she spoke to him with a hint of a shaky sound in her soft voice.

"I...I am afraid."

"What are you afraid of, my lady?"

"I don't wish to offend you-"

"Tell me, Sophia."

"I...I am afraid of being alone with you in a room for the night."

She found her answer catching him by surprise, and that he was not expecting to hear those words from her. Swallowing a lump that had grown in her throat, she prepared to explain herself as she picked up on him responding to her answer.

"Why are you afraid to be alone with me in our room?"

"I-I am a virgin, my lord, and I fear that I know what you wish for us to do in there tonight once the door to the room is shut and locked behind us."

"Do you think that I am going to ravage you once we enter our room and take something very special from you that you have been holding onto for a long time now without any concern for your well-being?"

"Yes." Her voice trembled a bit on the way out of her mouth as she spoke to him. Although she tried to keep eye contact with him, Sophia found herself looking down towards her feet as she was scared to see his face as she explained her reasoning. "I am afraid that you will do just that once we enter the place where we are to spend the night with one another. I had wished to give myself to the person I am to be with for all time in a manner that wouldn't make it seem cheap or lust-driven. I...I want it to be special."

No sooner had the last words slipped out of the confines of her mouth, Sophia registered one of Markus's strong hands cupping her chin in the palm of his hand and lifting it up in order for her to make eye contact with him. She gazed deeply into his piercing eyes once more just as her ears begun listening to his deep voice speaking to her in a soft tone that had a combination of gentleness and passion residing within it.


	24. Chapter 24

Note: This is a fanfiction based story. I do not own any characters or anything associated with them. This was wrote for only fun and no profit will be made from it.

Chapter Twenty-Four

"You don't have anything to worry about that, Sophia, because I intend to make it special for you and an experience that you will always think fondly of when you think back on it."

Markus had no intent of forcing himself onto her once they got inside the room that he had paid money for. He wanted her to crave what he had to offer her to the point where she would ask him to make love to her and join her to him for all time. The thought of doing something to her that she didn't have an interest in seemed pointless to him although there were men downstairs that would be all for it. That is what made him different.

Keeping her chin cupped within the palm of his hand, he maintained his gentle yet sensual tone towards her as he gazed into her eyes while he spoke.

"When the time does come for us to become one with each other, I will only proceed with it when you are ready, not before."

His piercing gaze watched a look of awe dance across her face at his announcement that he had no intention of ravaging her body the moment they stepped inside of the room with each other. Clearly, she had thought that he was going to take advantage of her the second the door closed behind the two of them and not that he was going to give her time to come to him and ask for him to consumate their union with one another.

"Now...Let's head into our room for the evening."

Markus shifted his hand away from her chin to where one of her hands were nestled, and grasped it with the most tender of touches despite how big his hand was and the roughness that was on his skin from years of having worked with them and fighting off people who offended him or his family. Pulling his gaze from her, he led them down the hallway to where a door lied at the very end of it, facing them. His tall frame moved with ease as he pressed onward with the only sounds in the nearby vicinity being the sound of his heavy boots thudding against the wood floor of the hallway with the soft sound of Sophia's shoes being faintly in the background.

 _You are kidding yourself if you think that you are going to be able to restrain yourself from what you truly wish to do to her, Markus._

The part of his being where his dark powers resided begun to taunt him regarding to what he had said to Sophia about waiting until she was ready for the two of them to have sex with one another.

 _You have never been like that with any woman you came across, Markus. As long as you have been alive, you have taken everything that you wanted without any feelings towards the person that you were getting what you wanted from. What is different this time that you are not going to be the fierce and dark prince that your mother has brought you up to be?_

 _Sophia._

Markus chose to battle with the part of his soul that was attempting to torment him for his decision to restrain his urges until his bride was more comfortable with him. He spoke with a firmness in his voice to the demon that lied within him while he continued to move with Sophia following his movements.

 _She has made me think differently of things. From the moment I first saw her, I knew that she would change everything about me by just who she is. I want to be the type of man that she wants in a husband and lover, and it is not someone who will force themselves onto her without caring for her._

 _You will fail in this attempt at trying to restrain your desires. There is no way that you can achieve this, Markus. Mark my words. Tonight, you will have your way with the beauty that you are walking with right now, and there is nothing that you can do about it._

Reaching the door to the room, he chose to not respond to the voice inside of him that kept telling him over and over that he would not be able to keep himself from acting on the lustful needs burning within him to take Sophia as his mate that night. His free hand brought out the key for the room, and slipped it into the key hole. Markus gave the key a little twist to the right before grasping onto the door handle, and pushing the door open. Taking in a breath, he turned towards where Sophia stood behind him with her small hand nestled within his large one. The sight of her brought a smile to his usually cold facial expression. Releasing the breath, he spoke to her with the same kindness that he had earlier.

"Here is our home for the night, my lady. I would like you to enter it first."


End file.
